Reflection Microscope for Examination of the Corneal Endothelium and Method of Operating Same

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and a method for operating an endothelium reflection microscope. The apparatus comprises an optical head including: an illuminating system, an eye-front observation optical system along a central channel in which an alignment-use light spot is received and imaged by a camera comprising a digital optical sensor, and an enlarged-imaging optical system for enlarged observation or photographing of the subject part of the digital camera. The apparatus further comprises a drive for moving the optical head and a CPU controller for automatically controlling the drive, the illuminating system and the eyefront optical system. The method comprises an endothelium image acquisition procedure in which the grey level inside a check area of the camera sensor is constantly checked during the advancement along an advancement direction (Z-); when the grey level reaches a predetermined threshold value, a delay time (Δt) is triggered; and when the delay time (Δt) lapses, the acquisition of one or more images of the endothelium by the digital camera is enabled.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to a new non-contact endothelium reflection microscope apparatus that permits to automatically obtain the endothelium image and to display clinically useful parameters such as the number and density of the cells, shape, surface, minimum, maximum and medium area, standard deviation, variation coefficient, percentage of cells of various shapes, area distribution histogram, perimeter distribution histogram.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The endothelium is the most internal layer of the tissues forming the cornea, and consists of a single layer of flat polygonal cells. The endothelium function is to adjust the water contents, permitting a suitable hydration of the cornea. The shape and amount of the cells influence the quality of the vision. The cornea transparency is subjected to a very delicate balance, and a number of diseases can produce a loss of the transparency.

The endothelium cells are of hexagonal shape in the children and in the young people. They do not reproduce themselves and. At birth, the density is about 4000 cells per square millimeter but as years pass the number decreases and the cells change their shape. The average density in an adult becomes of 2700 cells per square millimeter, in a range from 1600 to 3200 cells for square millimeter. The loss of cells brings about two main morphologic changes: the presence of cells with different surface area, and the increase in the amount of cells shaped differently from the basic hexagonal shape.

The evaluation of the cornea endothelium is useful to have a first clinic indication regarding the risks of a surgical step, and for checking a diagnostic assumption or a therapy effectiveness. In this kind of evaluation, it is very important to observe heterogeneous parts, such as intracellular and intercellular areas of no reflectance (dark spots), hyper reflective areas (bright spots), empty areas in the cells layer (guttae), bubbles, Descemet's membrane rupture lines.

Said parts can be checked in relationship with the evolution of different endothelium diseases of inflammatory or dystrophic nature. The quantity evaluation permits to assign to a determined photographic field a numeric parameter useful for the study of the endothelium variations in time, or for the comparison among different patients.

The most easily accessible parameter is the average cellular density, obtained for comparison or and by counting the cellular elements. The first method is carried out by comparing the cellular dimensions with the dimensions of the hexagonal reticules that correspond to determined densities. The counting of the cellular elements, instead, is carried out by using fixed or variable reticules.

The two methods give no information on the evolution of the cellular dimensions. This can be obtained by identifying, above and beyond the dimension of the average cellular area and its variability, also the perimeters of the cells. The endothelium reflection microscopic observation was first introduced in the opthalmologic practice around 1960 by David Maurice who, by modifying a metallography microscope, was able to obtain photographic images of a rabbit corneal endothelium. Exploiting the same theoretic principles, a microscope was subsequently proposed capable of taking photographs of the endothelium without contacting the eye.

The non-contact reflection microscope apparatus are generally derived from normal slit lamps with a high magnification microscope. The technical principle on which they are based is the visualization of a determined structure in relation to its capability of reflecting an incident ray of light used for the illumination. In the commonly used technique (triangulation), the observation angle is of about 45°, the microscope being placed such that the bisector axis of the angle of view is perpendicular to the plane tangent to the corneal surface.

The non-contact endothelium microscopy is particular indicated in all cases where the contact with the cornea can be dangerous, and therefore immediately after surgery or when there is an extreme structural fragility of the cornea. With the integration of the microscope with techniques of image analysis, the apparatus is able to give also a quantitative description of the endothelium tissue, expressed by the average cellular density and specific morphometric parameters.

A non-contact endothelium microscope according to the prior art is shown for example in European Patent Application n. EP628281. The optical unit in this apparatus comprises an illuminating system, for obliquely illuminating through a slit an eyeball surface of a subject eye, and an eye-front observation optical system in which alignment-use indicator light for positional adjustment of the imaging optical axis is projected towards the eye and the resulting reflected light is received and imaged by a TV camera. An enlarged-imaging optical system is also provided for enlarged observation or enlarged photographing of the subject part by the TV camera based on slit illuminating light with which the eyeball surface has been illuminated.

A photo-detector is arranged so as to detect a position at which the enlarged-imaging optical system has been focused on the subject part, via a reflected optical path other than that via which the enlarged image has been formed by the enlarged-imaging optical system. The whole optical unit is automatically moved both in a transversal direction and in a direction toward the eye, in response to the location of the above mentioned indicator light as displayed on a screen of a video monitor, so that the location chases a specified position on the screen. The enlarged visual image of the subject portion of the cornea is thus photographed via the TV camera when the photo-detector detects the focusing.

The above described system, with the use of a focusing detection photo-detector placed along a supplementary reflected optical path, renders the apparatus sophisticated, and thus costly to be produced and maintained in order to have reliable results.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus according to the invention permits to have the endothelium test without use of sensors, photosensors or other devices placed onto a reflected optical path. A higher quality endothelium image is obtained with a reduced use of electronic components and so with greater reliability, completeness and use flexibility in comparison with the prior art.

The essential characteristics of the microscope apparatus for the morphometric analysis of the cornea endothelium with direct image acquisition according to the invention are defined by the first of the annexed claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The characteristics and advantages of the microscope apparatus for the morphometric analysis of the cornea endothelium with direct image acquisition according to the present invention will be made clearer by the following description of embodiments thereof, given purely as a an example and not limitative, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an optical path diagram of a first embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an optical path diagram of a second embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram representing the hardware configuration of an apparatus according to the invention;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are explanatory views showing respective images displayed on a monitor screen during the image acquisition procedures according to the invention;

FIG. 6 schematically represents exemplifying reflections obtained with the apparatus; and

FIGS. 7 to 9 are flowcharts showing the procedures for image acquisition with the apparatus according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the apparatus according to the invention comprises a movable optical head or microscope 1 provided with a CCD high speed camera 2, i.e. a monochrome digital camera with shooting capacity of at least one hundred frames per second with FireWire high speed data output, i.e. with IEEE 1394 port or equivalent.

The high speed camera 2 is directly connected to a CPU unit 3. The unit 3 comprises a controller 4, e.g. a 65XX type controller produced by the company National Instruments (United States, Texas) or equivalent. The controller 4 controls a power driver board 5, so that the signal coming from the CPU unit 3 is suitable for driving electric DC motors 6 as described hereinafter.

The function of the motors 6 is to set in position the microscope 1 with the camera 2, following to automatic control by the CPU unit 3 so that the eye center 7 to be examined is found. Such a finding is obtained via a reflection onto the cornea surface of the light emitted by an infrared LED 8 mounted onto the mobile head of the apparatus, consisting of the microscope 1 with the camera 2.

The cited electronic components are connected each other according to known configurations. Considering instead more in detail the optical scheme of FIG. 1, a second LED 9 with associated optics 10 is arranged nearby the infrared LED 8 for providing the fixation point in association with a semireflecting mirror 11 and a semireflecting mirror 12, necessary to arrange the microscope in a way to center the patient eye and to obtain the triangulation necessary for the test. These components, like the other that follow and that form the optical scheme, are triangulation elements for the endothelium test, known and already in use for this kind of applications.

The optical scheme comprises then a side projection axis 13, a side reflection axis 14 and a central channel 15. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, transversally to the side projection axis 13, a halogen lamp 16 is arranged with a lamp condenser 17 and a slit 18. Along the side projection axis 13 there is also placed a semireflecting mirror 19 receiving the light beam generated by the halogen lamp 16 and the beam that can be generated by a photoflash 20 located at the start of the side projection axis 13. On the same axis, the photoflash 20 is followed by a photoflash condenser 21, a slit 22 and, beyond the mirror 19, by a an optical unit 23 that concentrates the beam onto the patient eye 7. In the embodiment of FIG. 2 the lamp 16, the condenser 17, the slit 18, the semireflecting mirror 19 and the photoflash 20 are replaced by a stroboscopic lamp 36 activated analogously and with the same function to the previous elements.

Along the side reflection axis 14 there is arranged a side reflection optical unit 24 that concentrates the reflected beam and the endothelium image to a mirror 25, from which the beam and the image signal are reflected to the central channel 15 passing through a filter 26 and a magnifying optical unit 27. The beam, and the endothelium image conveyed therewith, joins the central channel 15 in a point where a dichroic mirror 28 is arranged.

The central channel 15 also provides for, starting from the examined eye 7, the above mentioned semireflecting mirror 12 and a central optical unit 29 that concentrates the image of the eye 7 and of the LED 8 to the high speed camera 2, passing through the dichroic mirror 28.

The system is controlled by two pulses 30 and 31 coming from the controller 4. The first pulse 30 transmits the on/off signal to the LEDs 8 and 9, to the photoflash 20 and to the halogen lamp 16. The second pulse 31 transmits the signal for the operation of the motors 6.

The optical head is driven by the motors along three Cartesian directions where the low-high direction corresponds to a Y-direction, the direction of horizontally approaching to and mowing away from the eye corresponds to a Z-direction, and the transversal sideways direction corresponds to a X-direction.

With reference also to FIGS. 4 to 6 and to the self-explanatory flowcharts of FIGS. 7 to 9, the microscope according to the invention works in the following way.

After arranging the optical head at the desired position, the test starts with the turning on of LED 9 giving the fixation point for the patient. At the same time, the infrared LED 8 is switched on, projecting via the reflecting mirror 12 a spot of light onto the cornea surface. This spot is detected by the camera 2 along the central channel 15. Camera 2 starts then acquiring images, with a resolution of at least 656×400 pixels, taken continuously with a frequency of about 100 Hz.

On each acquired frame, data acquisition procedures are carried out for identifying the points (pixels) in which the grey level is inside a certain predetermined range, so as to eliminate the darker and the clearer points of the prefixed range, and to identify all the points that belong to the light spot reflected by the cornea, and thus to precisely outline the same spot.

Of all the pixels that form the image of the reflected spot the X- and Y-coordinates are calculated, with reference to the upper left angle of the image that coincides with the same position on the sensor of the camera 2 (point ø in FIG. 4).

Subsequently, average, variance and standard deviation of the X-, Y-coordinates are calculated so as to define the center of the reflected spot and to identify the interference of possible remote luminous signals that could be mistakenly associated with the spot.

The driver board 5 is continuously operated to make the luminous spot given by the LED 8 coincide with the center of the sensor of the camera 2, as a result of the action of the electric motors 6. In practice, the apparatus according to the invention makes the center position of the eye 7 coincide with the center of the CCD sensor of the camera and of the video signal processed by the FireWire IEEE 1394 port and the controller 4, with a feedback control loop to automatically drive the electric motors 6.

In greater detail, the CPU unit 3 determines two concentric areas 32 and 33 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). A bigger area 32 is the area of the image useful to the test, the borders of the image being discarded due to the fact that they are often affected by undesired external reflections. When the center of the above mentioned light spot is outside the area 32, the continuation of the test is not permitted. The area 2 can be circular, as in the example, or shaped differently (oval, squared etc.)

The radius of the area 32 may be defined by the medical operator, or established as a design parameter, the center coinciding with the CCD camera sensor center. A smaller area 33 is instead the optimal area for the centering, i.e. the target area to be reached by the center of the spot in order to deem the eye 7 and camera sensor centered with respect to each other.

After that the center of the reflected spot has been calculated as mentioned, the distance of this from the center of the smaller area 33 (which can even be a single pixel), and the motors are continuously operated to drive the optical head 1 along the X- and Y-directions until such distance is minimized, that is to say the center of the reflected spot is brought (and kept) inside the area 33. In practice, the system automation is therefore to calculate the center position of the reflected spot with respect to the area center 33 so as to instruct the motors accordingly. In this way, through the driver board 5 and the motors 6 placed on two X- Y-directions, the movement of the optical head is driven with a frequency equal to that with which the frames are taken, i.e. every ten milliseconds.

When the reflected image (spot) is deemed centered to the sensor (step A in FIGS. 7 and 8), through a suitable TTL signal that activates the driver board 5, the lamp 16 is switched on. Said lamp 16 illuminates the slit 18 through the lamp condenser 17. The luminous slit that is formed is projected on the eye along the axis 13 through the mirror 19 and the lens 23. The optical head is now moved along the Z-direction, until the triangulation takes place, i.e. until the luminous slit, due to the geometric conditions that regulate the optical reflection, can be reflected by the corneal surface via the reflection axis 14. When this reflection occurs, the image of the slit becomes superimposed to the image acquired by the camera 2 coming from the central channel 15. The same geometric conditions just mentioned are such that the advancement of the optical head along the Z-direction corresponds to a shifting, from the left towards the right (considering the camera sensor as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5) of the image of the slit reflected by the cornea.

In order to have high quality images of the endothelium, it is important that the images be captured, and also (preferably) the cornea be illuminated by the photoflash 20, in the time in which the incident beam coming from the side projection axis 13 is in the optimal position to create the necessary reflection on the layer of the endothelium cells. To this purpose, the apparatus according to the invention proceeds in the following manner.

A check area or band 34 (FIG. 5) is established on the image taken by the CCD camera sensor, in the left part thereof. In the example the check area 34 is a five pixels wide band starting from the left border of the sensor, but it may be less displaced with respect to the center, and be less wide and long according to the circumstances. In the absence of a triangulation, the image in the check band 34 is generally composed by a grey background with a low intensity value.

The area 34 is constantly checked, during the advancement along the -Z direction, with the maximum frequency allowed by the characteristics of the camera (for example around 100 frames per second). With particular reference also to FIG. 6, there is represented a beam 14B reflected by the cornea C, and more precisely by the superficial part thereof, the epithelium Cep. The reflected beam 14B is captured by the camera as a luminous strip 35 (the above mentioned image of the slit) moving from left to right.

When the luminous strip 35 enters the check area 34 the grey level intensity detected therein increases to a bigger value than a predetermined threshold value; this time t₀ is fixed like a temporal reference. The grey level intensity detection in the check area is carried out by average calculations over all the pixels forming the area.

From the time t₀ a suitable delay Δt is set to control the acquisition. In fact, considering the advancement speed of the head along the Z-direction and above all the thickness of the cornea, it is only with a certain delay after the image 35 reflected by the epithelium Cep has been detected in the check area 34, that an image reflected by the endothelium comes to an optimal position for being taken by the camera 2. This situation is clearly represented in the same FIG. 6, where the beam 14A reflected by the endothelium Cend produces a strip image 37 which is displaced rearward with respect to the image 35 reflected by the epithelium Cep.

The period of time Δt that passes between to (reference) and the time in which the image of the endothelium is taken is then fundamental, and is evaluated on the basis of the advancement speed and the average thickness of the human cornea. The delay time Δt can in any case be adjusted manually or automatically. As the delay time Δt passes, the photoflash 20 is turned on, illuminating the cornea, and the image of the endothelium is taken through the camera 2. A number of different images can also be taken, so that the one having the best quality can be chosen. The images are stored in a database for possible further processing or treatment. As the acquisition cycle is closed, the apparatus returns in the start configuration awaiting a new test to be done.

As mentioned, both the Δt delay and the position of the check area 34 can be changed so as to give to the medical operator the possibility to obtain better images also in case of corneas with particular morphologies. The photoflash lamp 20, thanks to its supplementary luminous impulse, permits to lower the gain of the camera 2 and so to have less noisy images. Said photoflash can be activated with a certain advance with respect to the lapse of Δt, considering the intrinsical lag of the device.

The advantageous characteristics of the apparatus according to the invention attain the object stated in the introductory part. The absence of a photosensor or of a linear sensor along an optical reflection path; the acquisition procedure, controlled and realized by means of simple software instructions given to the apparatus as described above, ensures a better reliability, lower costs and a better use flexibility. Furthermore, the quality of the endothelium images can be increased even further, with respect to known apparatus using conventional focusing techniques, by the possibility of taking a number of frames, and then choosing the highest quality one.

The patients, the tests and the captured images are stored in a database, permitting to work on the taken data even after the test. This permits to rely on useful clinical parameters and, subsequently, to process the same so as to define the number and the density of the cells, their shape, their surface, i.e. their maximum, minimum and average area, the deviation from the standard parameters, a variance coefficient, the ratio of cells of various form, graphics of the distribution, of the dimension of cells areas and graphics of the perimeters distribution. The test can be carried out with a reduced assistance by the medical operator, thanks to the automatic control of the same test as described above.

Variations and/or modifications can be brought to the endothelium reflection microscope for morphometric analysis with direct image acquisition according to the invention, without for this reason departing from the scope of the invention itself as defined in the annexed claims. 

1. A method for operating an endothelium reflection microscope, the apparatus comprising an optical head including: an illuminating system, for obliquely illuminating along a side projection axis through a slit, an eyeball surface of a patient's eye; an eye-front observation optical system along a central channel in which alignment-use indicator light for positional adjustment of the imaging optical center is projected toward the eye and the resulting reflected light spot is received and imaged by a camera comprising a digital optical sensor; and an enlarged-imaging optical system arranged along a side reflection axis for enlarged observation or photographing of the subject part by the digital camera based on slit illuminating light with which the eyeball surface has been illuminated; the apparatus further comprising a drive for moving the optical head along three Cartesian directions comprising an advancement direction (Z-) generally parallel to the central channel and transverse alignment directions (X-, Y-), and a CPU controller for automatically controlling the drive, the illuminating system, and the eye-front optical system; the method further including an alignment procedure in which the optical head is moved along the alignment directions (X-, Y-) so that the reflected light spot and the camera optical sensor are mutually centered, and an endothelium image acquisition procedure in which the optical head is moved along the advancement direction (Z-), the image acquisition procedure comprising the steps of: (i) constantly checking the grey level inside a check area of the camera sensor, during its progression along the advancement direction (Z-), the check area being displaced generally toward a border of the sensor corresponding to the entry side of reflection of the slit light, shifting in response to movement of the optical head in the advancement direction (Z-); (ii) when the grey level reaches a predetermined threshold value, triggering a delay time (Δt); and (iii) when the delay time (Δt) lapses, enabling acquisition of one or more images of the endothelium by the digital camera.
 2. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein the check area is a strip or band extending vertically for at least a central portion of the sensor.
 3. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein the grey level is checked by average calculations over all the pixels included in the check area.
 4. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein the delay time (Δt) controls activation of a supplementary illuminator arranged on the side projection axis.
 5. The method set forth in claim 4, wherein the supplementary illuminator includes a photo-flash, a signal for activating the same being emitted from the CPU unit to the photoflash with a selected advance relative to the lapse of the delay time (Δt).
 6. The method set forth in claim 1, wherein a plurality of images of the endothelium are taken and the higher quality of the images is chosen by the operator.
 7. The method set forth in claim, wherein the alignment procedure further comprises the steps of: (i) continuously taking images of the reflected light spot; (ii) on each acquired frame, identifying all the pixels in which the grey level is inside a selected range, so as to identify all the points that belong to the light spot reflected by the cornea; (iii) evaluating the center of the light spot; (iv) assessing the distance between the center of the light spot and the center of the sensor; (v) changing the position of the optical head via the drive motors until the distance is below a predetermined value; and (vi) triggering commencement of the endothelium image acquisition procedure.
 8. The method set forth in claim 7, wherein the procedure is stopped or does not start if the center of the light spot is outside of a first, relatively larger control area having its center at the center of the sensor and outlined so as to discard borders of the sensor.
 9. The method set forth in claim 8, wherein the start of the endothelium image acquisition procedure is triggered when the center of the reflected light spot is inside a second, relatively smaller control area having its center at the center of the sensor.
 10. The method set forth in claim 9, wherein the smaller control area comprises a pixel.
 11. The method set forth in claim 7, wherein the center of the reflected light spot is evaluated by calculating the average, variance and standard deviation of the coordinates (X-, Y-) of all the pixels in the reflected light spot, with respect to a fixed reference point of the camera sensor.
 12. An endothelium reflection microscope having an optical head which includes an illuminating system, for obliquely illuminating along a side projection axis through a slit, an eyeball surface of a patient's eye; an eye-front observation optical system along a central channel in which alignment-use indicator light for positional adjustment of the imaging optical center is projected generally toward the eye and the resulting reflected light spot is received and imaged by a camera comprising a digital optical sensor; and an enlarged-imaging optical system arranged along a side reflection axis for enlarged observation or photographing of the subject part by the digital camera based on slit illuminating light with which the eyeball surface has been illuminated; the apparatus further comprising a drive for moving the optical head along three Cartesian directions comprising an advancement direction (Z-) generally parallel to the central channel and transverse alignment directions (X-, Y-), and a CPU controller for automatically controlling the drive, the illuminating system and the eye-front optical system; the CPU controller including a control unit operated by endothelium image acquisition procedure software. 